Home Burglaries Soaring

Tough Law Fails To Curb Break-ins

By Mark Eissman And Joseph R. Tybor.

September 08, 1985

A law mandating prison terms for residential burglars is being widely skirted by Chicago judges who consider it unduly harsh in many cases. At the same time, residential burglaries here have risen 85 percent since the law took effect in 1982.

The law, which was passed amid alarm over a rash of home break-ins in Springfield, set a four-year minimum sentence for those found guilty of residential burglary.

Proponents of the measure claimed it would cut down on courtroom arrangements that gave these offenders light prison sentences or probation. Tougher sentences, they said, would reduce home break-ins.

But a computerized study by The Tribune has found that the law has given rise to a new type of dealing that perpetuates light sentences and probation. In cases where judges are reluctant to see defendants go to prison, they are convicting them of other crimes such as simple burglary and theft, or permitting them to plead guilty to lesser offenses, the study determined.

The study found that 40 percent of those convicted after being arrested for home burglary are sentenced on lesser charges. By contrast, charges are reduced in only 5 percent of other burglary cases where convictions are obtained.

Some of those who escape the prison requirement of the residential burglary law have serious criminal records, the study discovered. Many first- time offenders go to prison.

The unexpected results of the residential burglary law underscore how difficult it can be to correct perceived shortcomings in the criminal justice system through isolated legislative efforts.

Some judges contend that the law is an unwise intrusion into the judicial process that ties their hands and makes it difficult for them to dispense appropriate punishment based on the unique circumstances of a particular case. Critics contend that the scope of the law is too broad. Appellate courts have ruled it applies to break-ins of attached garages, sheds and unoccupied vacation homes. Some legal scholars believe it even covers tents.

``The law is rather harsh, to say the least,`` Criminal Court Judge James Bailey said.

``Many times you have young individuals with no sheet (criminal record)

who get caught in their first burglary. If the kid is attending school and, let`s say, was a lookout during a burglary where two other kids went in and took somebody`s hi-fi and stereo, I think justice is much better served in not sending that kid to a penitentiary.``

Other judges argue that the mandated sentence is harsher than the penalties available for crimes they consider more serious.

``To my way of thinking,`` a judge explained, ``the professional criminal who plots and plans a commercial jewelry theft is a worse offender than a kid who burglarizes a garage attached to a house. There are some people who commit residential burglaries who really ought to be sentenced to the penitentiary. There are a lot who shouldn`t.``

The wide-scale reduction of residential burglary charges is done with the silent concurrence of prosecutors and sometimes with their encouragement, according to judges and defense attorneys. A former prosecutor, now a Criminal Court judge, said the legal maneuvering was courtroom ``sleight of hand.``

The Cook County state`s attorney`s office has a policy of initially charging nearly every house break-in as a residential burglary, but prosecutors anticipate that many of these eventually will be reduced, according to Jay Magnuson, chief of the criminal prosecution bureau.

``The state`s attorney`s policy is not to reduce, but if the case warrants it, I`ll find a defendant guilty on a lesser charge,`` Bailey said.

The Tribune study found that enforcement of the law can be disturbingly inconsistent. Hardened drug addicts are believed to be responsible for many residential break-ins, but some addicts convicted of home burglary do not receive the mandatory prison sentence.

Under the provisions of another state law, even addicts with previous convictions for violent offenses may be sentenced to probation if they are accepted into a rehabilitation program run by Treatment Alternatives to Street Crime (TASC).

In the last 18 months, about 100 people convicted of home burglary in Cook County have been admitted to the program, according to TASC records.

``If you have two kids, one with no criminal record and no drug problem and a similar one with a drug problem, one has to get four years and the other can get probation along with TASC treatment,`` said Barbara Davis, chief prosecuting attorney at Preliminary Hearing Court Branch 42.

According to Illinois Department of Corrections records, 274 first-time offenders from Cook County were sentenced to Illinois prisons for residential burglary during the 12-month period that ended June 30.

All told, 776 people throughout the state were sentenced to prison for home burglary during that time. Of these, 464 were first-time offenders.